How to Files to an External Hard Drive

In this article, Mytour will guide you through the process of transferring files from your computer to a portable hard drive, USB, or memory card.

Connect the external hard drive to your computer. Plug the USB cable of the hard drive into one of the USB ports on your computer.

• USB ports are the flat rectangular slots located on the computer's frame.
• If using a memory card, insert it into the computer's card reader. You may need to purchase an SD card to USB adapter.

Navigate to the folder containing the files. Open the directory where the files you wish to copy to the external hard drive are stored.

• For example, if the files are in the Documents folder, click on Documents on the left to open the Documents folder.

Highlight the files you want to copy. Click and drag your cursor over the items in the folder.

• Alternatively, hold down the Ctrl key and click on each file to select them individually.
• To highlight everything in the current folder, press Ctrl+A.

Click on the Home tab located at the top-left corner of the File Explorer window.

Click on to or Move to. Both options are located in the "Organize" section of the Home toolbar at the top of the File Explorer window.

• to creates duplicates of the files, copying them to your chosen location while keeping the originals in place.
• Move to relocates the files from their current position to the selected destination. The data will no longer remain in the original location.

Click on Choose location at the bottom of the dropdown menu under to or Move to.

Scroll down and click on the name of the external hard drive. The external hard drive will appear under the "My Computer" or "This PC" section in the pop-up window.

Click on or Move. The files will begin transferring from your computer to the external hard drive.

Wait for the process to complete. The duration depends on the size of the files being transferred.

Safely disconnect the external hard drive. After copying the files to the external hard drive, safely disconnect it to ensure no data is lost or corrupted.

Connect the external hard drive to your computer. Plug the USB cable of the hard drive into one of the USB ports on your computer.

• USB ports are the flat rectangular slots located on the computer's frame.
• If using a memory card, insert it into the computer's card reader. You may need to purchase an SD card to USB adapter.
• Some Mac computers do not have USB ports, but you can purchase an adapter for connectivity.

Open Finder. The application is represented by a blue smiling face icon located in the computer's dock.

Highlight the files you want to copy. Open the folder containing the files, then click and drag your cursor over the items in the folder.

• Alternatively, hold down the ⌘ Command key and click on each file to select them individually.
• If you cannot find your files, click on All My Files on the left side of the Finder window to browse through all folders on your Mac.

Click on the Edit option located at the top-left corner of your computer screen.

Select the option from the dropdown Edit menu.

Click on the name of the external hard drive listed under the "Devices" section on the left side of the Finder window. The external hard drive's window will open in Finder.

Click on Edit again, then choose Paste Items. The selected files will be copied to the external hard drive.

• If you have selected only one file, the option will appear as Paste Item.

Wait for the copying process to complete. The duration depends on the size of the files being transferred.

Click the eject button. This option, represented by an upward-pointing arrow, is located to the right of the external hard drive's name in Finder. This allows you to safely disconnect the hard drive without risking data loss or corruption.

• If you don't have an external hard drive, you can use Google Drive or another cloud service (such as iCloud or Dropbox) to back up your files.

• Disconnecting the external hard drive improperly may result in data loss or damage.